Initiative Shields Victims Of Abuse

Like many victims of domestic violence, she was chased from state to state by her ex-husband.

When she and her four children landed in South Florida around Thanksgiving, it was just a matter of time before he tracked her down again.

But the 35-year-old mother would not have to run again -- thanks to a new state program administered by the Attorney General's Office that conceals the whereabouts of battered women while allowing them to maintain their identities and stay in touch with loved ones.

After enrolling in the Address Confidentiality Program, the Broward County woman is now working and her children are all in school, said Eva Rivera, director of Women in Distress, a Broward shelter for battered women that referred her to the program.

Under the rules, victims must first agree to relocate. Then their mail is sent to a post office box at a remote location under heavy security in Tallahassee, where state employees reroute it to the victim's real address known only to the victim and the Attorney General's Office.

Delays in getting mail are minimal -- at most a day turnaround, officials say.

State and local officials are calling the 1-year-old initiative a success, pointing out that to date no one in the program has been found by their abuser. In Palm Beach and Broward counties, no one has been kicked out of the program for violating the strict rules.

"The purpose is to give victims an opportunity to free themselves from an abuser or stalker," said Rodney Doss, director of victim's services for the Attorney General's Office. "It would be impossible to follow a piece of mail to the victim."

In addition to relocating, victims must be willing to find a new job or transfer to a different office. If they have children in school, arrangements must be made to place them in another school with the help of local school districts.

Participants in the program also receive educational and vocational services. In return, they must agree not to give out their real address to anyone or have any contact with their abuser.

"It's not for everybody," said Lois Messer, a victim advocate with the Attorney General's Office in West Palm Beach. "It's an enhancement to a safety plan. It's not a cure-all to this problem."

For example, victims should also consider changing their names and Social Security numbers, if need be, and file restraining orders, Messer said.

"We have a lot of women whose husbands have been extremely resourceful in locating them," Rivera said.

Participants may remain enrolled for as long as they want. The new P.O. box addresses are good for driver's licenses and other state and local documents, and their confidential addresses are exempt from Florida's public records law.

There are 55 adults and 44 children enrolled statewide, including one participant in Palm Beach County, nine in Broward County and seven in Miami-Dade County.

Messer said participants must be willing to uproot themselves because of clever abusers who often wait for them at work or at their children's school and simply follow them home.

"It's a drastic step," she said. "There are victims who are not willing to make all the changes one must make."

Even if they do, it's possible that something will go wrong unless participants adhere strictly to the rules.

Three weeks ago, police in Broward arrested a man who was following a school bus carrying the children of a woman enrolled in the program, Rivera said. The bus driver noticed him and pulled into a police station where the man was charged with violating a restraining order.

Other than the school, the man didn't know anything else about the mother or the children, she said.

"She may have spoken to a friend [about the school]," she said. "That's what we think happened."

Cheryl Rogers, executive director of Aid to Victims of Domestic Violence, a Delray Beach shelter for battered women, said abusers become angrier when their victims move away.

"Often, victims need to go from county to county to be safe," she said. "This is the last resource in providing protection."

The program, modeled after a similar initiative in Washington state, was enacted in January due to the efforts of the Governor's Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault under the late Lawton Chiles.

Messer, who trained staffers at domestic violence shelters and other organizations to make referrals, said there was a lot of interest in the program in Palm Beach County. Of the 329 people statewide who have been trained to advise victims about the program, 63 are in Palm Beach County -- more than in any other county.

Domestic violence is a growing and under-reported crime, according to police.

During the first nine months of this year, more than 6,400 women and children were victims of domestic violence in Palm Beach County, and that number is expected to jump to as high as 10,000 by year's end, according to the State Attorney's Office. Last year, 18 people died in domestic-related homicides in Palm Beach County.

In Broward, 90,000 domestic violence incidents were reported in 1998, said Rivera, who added that only one in 10 incidents are even reported at all.

She said feedback they've received from women in the program has been positive.

"There is a stronger sense of security; a sense that they have gained more control over their lives," she said.

For more information about the program call 800-226-6667.

Kevin Krause can be reached at kkrause@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6604.